Counting Strawberries
by BoyTomoChan
Summary: Most people when they go to a new town introduce themselves to people in town, not Jack. Jack just went to the stores quickly to buy everything he needed. In fact, since buying the necessary items, he’s yet to leave his farm at all. That is until one day.
1. Strawberry 1

Jack was a man. A man with a boring boring life. A man who never really had anything to his name or anything to do. This is pretty much the sole reason someone would just take over a farm of all things. Jack needed something out of life, a purpose of some sort, and it was that farm that sorta became that.

Most people when they go to a new town like to introduce themselves to everyone in town, not Jack. Jack simply went to the store real quick to buy all the seeds he needed, and the farm animals to take care of and went on his way. In fact, since buying the necessary farm animals and seeds, he's yet to leave his farm at all. That is, until one fateful day.

Jack was working on his crops, he had just grown a hefty supply of turnips that he planned on selling. Normally, Jack was completely perfect with his work, but today, as he was harvesting all of them, he missed just one turnip. And he was holding a bunch of other turnips in his hands, and it just so happened he tripped on that sole turnip.

He fell hard to the ground, like REALLY hard. He figured he was okay, but then he looked down at his knees.

"Blood."

This wasn't too good at all! Jack has never had the problem of having to deal with an injury before, so he didn't have the necessary stuff needed to treat it. He then sighed when he came to an inevitable realization.

"I guess I'll just have to go to the doctor's to get this treated if I want to keep working at 100%."

And so, Jack looked at the path he had only once before gone on. When was the last time he had wandered into town for something? Was it months? Perhaps years? He wasn't quite sure himself, but seeing as the blood was starting to drip, he knew he definitely still had to go.

And so, he walked into the town. As he walked searching for the doctor's place, he indeed was aware that he had no idea where it was. But still, he didn't feel the need to ask for directions. But as he was just walking around examining every house and sign he came across, he noticed that he was getting very strange looks. He could even hear what they were saying about him.

"Who is that…"  
"Is that the farmer…?"

"He's actually in town? What does he want with us?"

"I don't know, but we should keep our distance, he's not a normal folk you know."  
"You don't need to tell me twice."

Jack just laughed hearing these things, it seemed these people did not understand that he was completely able to do everything by himself, and required nothing of people. However, looking at his knee made him change that to _almost _nothing.

Finally, he came across the doctor's place.

"Lets get my business done so I can get out of here…"

Jack was in no way going to get comfortable to people in town here. So he just walked in, and what was inside there was something that he never expected would ever happen.


	2. Strawberry 2

He walked inside, there was a nurse there. The nurse had a surprised look on her face cause she had never seen this person before.

"Hello! Can I help you?"

Jack had no words for this person, so he merely pointed at the wound he received.

"Oh my! That's quite the scraped knee you have there, allow me to wash it first."  
And so, the nurse used a wash cloth to wipe the blood off. She then put some alcohol on a cotton, and brought it closer to his wound.

"This may sting..sorry."

This indeed, hurt a lot. But Jack didn't show any signs of pain, since he knew it was just a part of a process to cure his knee.

She then placed a bandage over the knee.

"There…done."

Though, the nurse was quite confused by something.

"Didn't it hurt at all doing that? You didn't even change your facial expression…"

Jack plainly responded "It didn't hurt." As if it was an obvious fact.

"Oh…how strange. Why haven't I ever seen you in town before Mister…?"  
"Jack, my name is Jack."

"Oh, well it's a pleasure to meet you Mister Jack, my name is Elli."

"Hi Elli."

"…Well..hello to you too!"

"…I'm…going to go…"

"Oh..well alright, just if you have any other injury problems, you know where to find me!"

"Bye."

And so Jack just left the Doctor's place as soon as he could.

"What was… that feeling I had when I talked to her…"

For the first time in his life, he had acquired happiness from having contact with another human being, it was a very strange and odd feeling, and he did not understand it in the slightest.

"What should I do…what should I do…"

He kept saying this to himself over and over. Should he talk to her again? Just like that? No, that would never work. He had little to no knowledge concerning her, but yet he found himself wanting to know more about her, and this again, confused him very much. But how would he do such a task? Should he ask the townspeople? Haha, what a ridiculous thought that was. Relying on others for such a task is pointless. He knew he had to take care of this task himself, and he knew just what to do.

First off, he had no idea where she lived, surely she didn't live in the doctor's office…right? So in order to acquire information, he had a plan.

"I will hide behind this sign until its time for her to go home."

And that's exactly what he did. Stood still behind a sign, being completely motionless.

Normally, doing absolutely nothing for a long time was a complete snap for this person, but for some reason, he was feeling quite anxious.

"I want to know where she lives, I want to know where she lives." He kept thinking to himself.

But still, he managed to control himself and stay in hiding for a very very long 8 hours. When he saw her leave the building, he almost gave out a "YIPPEE!" after so much waiting, but of course he controlled himself. She very slowly was walking to the path on the left, completely unaware of his presence. Once she was a good 20 feet away where he was, he began to slowly follow. Which finally revealed the house she stayed at. She walked inside with Jack still following, but he stayed outside the house of course.

"So she lives here…perhaps more information gathering is possible."

To this, he hid under a window, where he could hear voices.

"I'm home~"

"Elli! Welcome home, how was work today?"  
"Pretty uneventful as usual, though I did see a strange farmer come in."  
"A farmer you say? Why, I've probably only seen that boy once or twice, he never leaves that farm of his, quite strange really."

"Oh, you think its him?"

"Its gotta be him!"

"How very odd…oh my god are those strawberries!"  
"Why yes, I bought some at the supermarket for you."  
"Thank you grandma! You're always so kind to me."

And the information gathering was complete.

"Strawberries…she likes strawberries."

And he quickly ran home with this new found information.


	3. Strawberry 3

He immediately went to bed, as it was late there was nothing he could do with his new found information. Sleeping was the most logical choice of action as of now since it would make time go faster. However, while in bed instead of immediately going to sleep, calculations were done instead. Strawberries. How many would he need? If he wanted a strawberry to give to Elli every day of the year, that would be 120 strawberries. And one strawberry seed makes 9 strawberry plants. And then each seed would cost 150 gold. And if 10 bags would make 90 strawberries…and we add some, 99, 108, 117, 126. Oh dear, it appears that we have an uneven amount, perhaps if we change it to 240 it'll change. Now then, 20 bags would be 180 strawberries, so 189, 198, 207, 216, 224, 233, 242. Oh no, its still not working. I suppose we'll just get 40 bags since that equals 360. Now 40 bags of strawberries..that costs, 6000 G, I definitely have that much. Okay its all good now. His mind can rest easy knowing the right calculations now.

And so morning came, he woke up at 6 AM as usual. He took care of his animals as quick as possible, it probably took not even thirty minutes. And he ran straight into town again.

He found the supermarket much easier then he did the doctor's office, as he had been here before, just barely ever. He then noticed a sign that said "Opens at 9 AM." He looked at his watch, it read '6:45 AM' and so he just stood in front of the store.

People noticed him just standing in front of there, not moving or anything.

"..whats his problem?"  
"I don't know..he's just..standing there, not moving…"

"Think we should ask what he's doing?"  
"I REALLY don't think it's a good idea, but what the heck, I'm really bored."

A couple middle aged women approached him. He turned around.

"What..exactly are you doing?"  
"Waiting for the store to open."  
"..But it doesn't open for a couple hours you know…"

"I can wait."

"…"

And so, the two middle aged women left him in his waiting.

Two hours quickly passed, for Jack anyhow, and then went inside the second the man unlocked the door.

He immediately found the strawberry seeds, taking as many as he could find. In which he then counted them.

"…20? There is only 20."

Jack approached the shop keeper.

"There are only 20 strawberry seeds here, I need 20 more."

The shopkeeper gave him the strangest look at his request.

"40 strawberry seeds..? That's quite a lot, and they don't sell for much either, so why do you need that many?"  
"I need that many, is this truly all you have?"  
"….uh yeah?"  
"This shop is a disgrace to this town, not even having enough seeds to provide their customers."

"..Well sorry but..nobody ever asked for that many before."

"Fine, I'll just take these."

Jack just took the seeds leaving 3000 gold on the table and ran off.

"Who was THAT guy…never seen him before..or have I?"

Jack arrived home as quickly as he possibly could. According to his knowledge on strawberries, it took 9 days including the day you plant them for the strawberries to grow, if he wanted a good even 360 strawberries, he'd have to allow them to grow twice, which would take much longer then simply buying 40 but he had to make due with the unreliability of everyone else. In fact, he gave a smirk thinking at how silly he was to expect that shopkeeper to have 40 seeds in the first place, he's not supposed to rely on others, but he had to if he wanted to make that Elli person happy.

And it was then that he began his hard hard hard work.

He had to hoe 180 squares of dirt, that was by far no easy task, but for the amazing farmer that he was, he hoed every single square he had to without stopping once.

He took a breather then, but it was quite a short one. He figured the next step could be considered a breather since it was the easiest part. He then sowed all 20 bags of seeds he received, it looked easy but it still took some time.

And now, he had to water them. Water water water water. Flawless work as usual.

And there it was, 20 9 x 9 squares of strawberries sown for Elli. Jack took a moment to fully appreciate the hard work he's done. It was then he noticed the sun setting, it took that long to finish this, but he knew in the end it would be worth it. He then went to bed so that tomorrow he could give the strawberries the water they need.


	4. Strawberry 4

He woke up, watered his strawberry plants, took care of the animals, and went to bed.

He woke up, watered his strawberry plants, took care of the animals, and went to bed.

He woke up, watered his strawberry plants, took care of the animals, and went to bed.

He woke up, watered his strawberry plants, took care of the animals, and went to bed.

He woke up, watered his strawberry plants, took care of the animals, and went to bed.

He woke up, watered his strawberry plants, took care of the animals, and went to bed.

He woke up, watered his strawberry plants, took care of the animals, and went to bed.

He woke up, watered his strawberry plants, took care of the animals, and went to bed.

Eight days had passed just like that, it was then that he had found that his strawberries were fully grown, and how happy he was to have them! He picked and picked and picked, it began to be hard to hold so many so he got out a basket to put them all in. And of course he made sure to water every strawberry plant he harvested. As soon as he finished with that, he took care of his animals real quick.

He looked inside the basket and pondered quickly.

"I'll only need one for today."

And he took one and walked straight over to the doctor's.

There he was, walking through town holding a solitary strawberry, it surely looked strange that Jack, just holding one strawberry like it was a sacred treasure or something. By now the village folk just ignored him entirely and didn't even comment on what he was doing.

He then came to the appointed place of destination! Where the Elli was located! He walked in, still holding it. Elli noticed him.

"Oh, why hello there…Jack was it?"

She knew his name, Jack was happy just hearing this. He wanted to smile, but was too intent on finishing his mission here to bother doing that.

"So, do you have another inju-"

Just as she was about to finish her sentence, Jack showed the strawberry, by putting it right in front of her face. Elli pushed his hand down.

"What's this?"  
"A strawberry."

"And..what are you doing with it?"  
"I'm giving it to you."

Elli was more then a little confused. First of all, how did he know she loved strawberries, second, did he really come here to just give her ONE strawberry? I mean, one strawberry isn't really anything at all. Elli didn't quite have any words ready, so she just asked.

"How did you know I liked strawberries…?"

Jack, too had no words ready, so said something quite strange in response.

"You..look like..a strawberry."

"..I look like a strawberry?"

"I mean..looks like someone that likes strawberries."

"And..you just brought one?"

"Is…that a problem?"

"Well..no, I suppose it isn't. Thank you Jack."

She then ate the strawberry, and man did she look pleased afterwards.

"Mmmmm, that was really good! Did you just grow them?"

"Yes."

"Wow! You can't beat fresh strawberries just grown at the farm!"

She looked happy, which Jack had completely expected. He didn't do research for nothing.

"Now then, what are you here for today Jack?"  
"I just came to give you that."

"Just to give me..this one strawberry?"  
"Yes."

"Oh, well thank you then Jack."  
"Okay."

And he left.

What a great success! He was so proud of himself for making this plan a complete victory! However, he knew not to get cocky, as he still should obtain more information. So in order to do so, he put his ear on the door.

"hmm..that strawberry was good, but it's a shame it was only one, eating only one strawberry is like eating one potato chip! Still it was nice of him!"

Oh dear. An error? If he wasn't to simply give her one strawberry per day, how many would he have to give her? Two? Three? Four? How would this affect his already made calculations? How many more bags of seeds would he have to buy? It really was a shame that there were no calculators in town, but still, he must succeed!

He ran into the supermarket, once again seeing the French looking man.

"Give me all the strawberry seeds you have!"


	5. Strawberry 5

"All the strawberry seeds we have…? We still haven't gotten more in since the last time you showed up."

"Give me those then!"

"Well..we only have 7, is that okay?"

And Jack quickly handed him the money necessary and left the shop with them. He dashed to his farm with the speed of a galloping gazelle, as this new information he has received interfered quite severely with his previously calculated calculations.

How would he figure out how many to give her? What sort of basis could be used to figure out such a number? Should he just grab a handful of them and present them to her daily? But that would cause the numbers to shift so much, causing his yearly strawberry donations to not be yearly at all! Oh, how this awful dilemma was making Jack anxious, very very very anxious. He began to take care of the land so that his new seven strawberry seeds could be planted, but still he was quite worried.

As he was working, he got glimpse of his basket, the basket of his many hard earned strawberries. Jeez, while he knew the exact number and lasting of these strawberries, looking at them in such a large basket and pile made them appear to be infinite. And just then, Jack had got it! A solution for the anxiety-causing dilemma! Oh joy oh joy!

And with that, Jack had finished planting the remaining berries. As he had nothing else to do, he went to bed early.

Jack woke up excitedly, as he had still not forgotten his master plan of figuring this whole deal out. He did his usual work quickly, and grabbed his basket, and headed into town.

There Jack was in town, holding a giant basket of strawberries, exactly what was his plan? We would soon be finding out.

Jack approached the office of love and destiny once again, placing the basket on the ground, and taking one strawberry out of it and headed inside.

There she was still inside, in the same spot as she usually was.

"Why hello again Jack…is that another strawberry?"

"Yes."

"Did you come here to give me ANOTHER strawberry?"  
"Yes."

Elli was once again confused by this gesture, but she wasn't angry or upset or disturbed by it, just the whole thing was really bizarre, a guy she doesn't really know giving her a single strawberry two days in a row.

"I'll take it, thank you again Jack." And then she ate it right there, looking pleased.

It was now time for Jack's plan to go into action.

"Uh."

With that word he left the office. He then took a strawberry from the basket and came back inside with it.

Elli was quite surprised by this.

"Whats this?"  
"Second strawberry."  
"And why is this?"  
"One wasn't….enough?"

Jack was certainly right when he said one wasn't enough…but just something seemed kinda off about all this, Elli however, was someone who didn't think bad of someone unless she was absolutely sure, and even then not so much.

"You're right, what's one strawberry?" And with that, she ate it, looking pleased again.

"Uh."

And once again, Jack headed outside real quick to acquire yet another strawberry.

"Um…" Elli then saw a pattern going on here, she had no idea where he was getting these strawberries from, but if she didn't say something now, this could go on for a while.

"Wow! Another strawberry! Thank you!" She then took it, and ate it. And then she said.

"Oh wow, I sure am stuffed! Can't eat anymore!"

She was stuffed! That's the number he needs everyday, three.

"I go."

And then he left. What a fine information gatherer Jack was! Today had gone very smoothly.

Or so he thought.

The second he left the building, he noticed something

"…Where's the basket?"


	6. Strawberry 6

The basket was missing, the basket was indeed missing. This was bad, really bad, super horrendously horribly terribly bad. Well, it was only 8 days worth of work in there, but if he had to wait until spring had subsided, he wouldn't have a chance to grow so many until a year later! He had to solve this mystery, one way or another.

Now, where would the culprit go with a big basket of strawberries? Hmm hmm hmm! There was a way to narrow it down that Jack knew of.

From Elli's workplace, there were three different paths. Two of which, led south, which was where other houses, and eventually his farm resided. Now then, why would a strawberry pilferer head to where the strawberries came from? Unless of course, they were a kind Samaritan who thought the basket of strawberries was misplaced and giving them back as a form of courtesy, which was just a ridiculous laughable thought, this was clearly the work of someone with villainous intentions!

So using the logic that they would go away from his farm, Jack headed to the path on the right. Those steps brought him to the church, which was on the exact opposite side of town from his farm. Jack's logic would dictate that his missing strawberries would be here. So Jack of course, peeked into the window.

Hmmm…there were pews, an organ, some statue thing, a pastor, you know, church stuff, but he didn't see his strawberries. Having just this little peek in the window made him convinced that it was not inside, not cause he was sure it wasn't there or anything, he just didn't feel like going inside and having the pastor ask him what he's doing and stuff, those kinds of things were just bothersome.

Though his first guess was wrong, Jack was still not ready to admit to himself that his previous logic was incorrect, just had an error within. It probably wouldn't be the VERY exact opposite of town, that would be too obvious. It was probably somewhere else, but still not close to his home.

His next stop was a house on the beach. Surely one could have his strawberries here without anyone ever noticing! There was no real basis for this statement, he was basically just guessing houses at random using bizarre logic to say why he was looking there, and into the window he peeked.

THERE THEY WERE! His strawberries!...And a small asian man, and a bucket of gold paint? The man was painting the strawberries gold, while saying some strange things.

"I will call this, the TUSPO Strawberry! Turbo Ultimate Supreme Perfect Original Strawberry! And this one shall be a GODUM Strawberry! Gorgeous original delicious ultra mega strawberry! AND THIS ONE..OOH I better not get ahead of myself! I can only carry a few with me at a time to give it the impression that these are quite rare!"

And the asian man was getting ready to leave the house with his few strawberries! And Jack was still in sight! Jack had no idea what to do since he had no time, so he jumped into the sea.

"Eh? What was that?"

The man then opened the door and looked outside, and saw nothing.

"Could've sworn I heard a splash of some sort…whatever."

And off he went.

Now was his chance! Jack immediately ran to the door to see if it was locked. It wasn't! The strange noise must've made him forget to do so. And he went inside, seeing that already a good number of strawberries were painted gold already..around 15 or so? It didn't matter, the majority of his crops were still alright. He didn't care about the 15 already there, so just left them, he was just too happy to be able to get his strawberries back.

And he left with them, leaving a drip drip everywhere he walked. Drip drip drip!


	7. Strawberry 7

. Drip drip drip! So much dripping! Jack disliked all this dripping, and he certainly did not want to go home leaving drips on his nice floor, so he decided to dry off by standing in the beach sun for a few hours, this probably seemed like something normal to do by now.

Waiting just waiting for the sun to dry him, though as always it seemed to go by in a flash. Then he decided to take a walk back home, taking the long way to walk by Elli's place just for principle's sake.

Then, what was this? It was Elli walking to her house. Just what exactly were the chances of this happening? I mean it probably only takes a minute or so for her to walk home, so for him to be there THE EXACT TIME SHE GOES HOME? Did he make subconscious calculations, or was luck really that strong?

Anyhow with all that thinking she was already at her door, Jack decided to listen in on her again, you never know what sort of information could happen!

"Happy birthday Elli dear, I got you this cake."

"…Grandma? My birthday isn't for two days."

"..Oh is that right? Forgive your grandmother, her memory isn't at its best."  
"Still, thank you very much grandma, it was very nice."

HER BIRTHDAY?! What was he to do for something like that. Perhaps give something better then just a simple strawberry? Perhaps a GIANT strawberry? But he had no other information on things that Elli likes, so this was troubling. Should he just give her a strawberry like always just to be completely safe, or be ambitious and try something else that's a bit bigger that she could possibly like? But what if this was to backfire, and..

"Oh my, what is that noise outside?"  
"I'll go see."

OH BAD, it seems his panicked state over this new important information has caused NOISE. Jack immediately got up and ran to the back of the house so not to be seen in the distance. Then Elli came outside.

"Nobody here…huh."

And then she went back inside. To which Jack gave a great sigh of relief. And then he safely ventured home with this new dilemma to deal with.

He went to his room and changed into some new clothes, of course the clothes looked the same in every detail, it was just a spare outfit.

And then came sleep, attempting to sleep with worry in the mind was the worst combination. He had no idea what to do for this…'birthday' of hers. What would a strawberry loving girl like her want for her birthday besides well, strawberries? Could there perhaps be some way to use strawberries in order to make something different entirely? There was stuff like strawberry jam, strawberry cake, strawberry juice, but all of those didn't taste exactly like strawberries now did they? It could even have an entirely reverse effect, as there are people who love tomatoes and hate ketchup, and vice-versa, so what was he to do?

He eventually fell asleep and woke up still at a loss what to do. He eventually went through a little cookbook he had to see if any ideas would pop up by looking in there.

Flip flip flip, nothing looked very interesting. Just as he was about to put it away, he came across one that looked interesting.

Strawberry pie? It looked like just a bunch of strawberries stuffed into a pie crust and cooked. How could something like that go wrong? Though the picture of it in the book had a full pie. Jack didn't think giving Elli an entire pie was the correct way to go, that seemed like way too much to give her in one sitting, and if he was to give her an entire pie would she feel pressured to eat the ENTIRE thing right there? A bad move indeed. He would have to just make a single slice, that seemed like a much better idea.

However, the book's instructions seemed to imply that baking an entire pie was the only way to make this! What a silly book indeed! So Jack decided to get started.

As it just so turned out, he happened to have some pie crust in the fridge. He cut it in the shape of a triangle so as to have enough for just a single slice. And as it turned out, Jack had the most peculiar shaped container. A triangular shaped one, as if just made for making single slices of pie. Why did he have this? Nobody knows.

So he stuffed the thing with strawberries, then placed the crust on top, and then put it in the oven to cook.


	8. Strawberry 8

Jack waited, patiently waited, for the pie to be done. Surely he could've taken care of his morning routine in the time it would've taken to bake the pie but…Jack just stood there standing, watching it cook. Sure enough they say a watched pot never boils, but…this pie indeed cooked fully despite the Jack watching it barely blinking.

"28 minutes and 37 seconds for perfect cooking."

He then took a bite of it. Munch munch.

"Delicious."

Jack's plan could definitely not fail. This test pie idea of his was great, he knew that if he had baked the pie two days earlier and left it alone, it would never taste as good as a pie fresh out of the oven. Though it was awfully hot, Jack didn't seem to mind.

And so, he quickly did his chores.

And then he noticed something, his basket of strawberries were still sitting in the basket outside. A thought occurred to him, what if someone would decide to rob him of the result of his hard work and trials? This wouldn't do at all, so he took the basket inside, placing each strawberry inside one at a time…

This of course, took nearly an hour. And when he went outside again, he realized a lot more time passed then he though! Just as he was about to take one strawberry to Elli's place, he thought about something else.

Could he really afford to give her yet another strawberry after using up so many for a piece of pie? And how he lost a few strawberries already? He got a chill up his spine. Perhaps it would be worth it to not give Elli a strawberry for a couple days? Surely the result of getting a birthday present plus the fact that it's a strawberry pie, would probably count the affection levels of 15 days worth of strawberries, which in turn would be, 15 strawberries.

Jack was very very very very very sad about not being able to see Elli today, but still he knew this would be a good idea.

Then he decided to devote his remaining time of today to think up anything else he should do. With her birthday tomorrow, he had to make sure he did this just right. So he thought and thought. Perhaps some whip cream? He had none of that so that wouldn't work…perhaps a ribbon? On a piece of pie? That just sounds silly. If it was jam or something maybe but pie? Or maybe he should just ditch this whole pie idea and give her strawberry jam instead so he can put a ribbon on a jar! …Though who in the right mind just eats plain jam by itself? Maybe strawberry jam on strawberry pie…? Or maybe he could perhaps put the piece of pie into a jar and then could have a ribbon on it, and she would look at the jar thinking its jam, but surprise surprise when she opens the jar!

In the end, he spent hours thinking up pointless ideas and went to bed at a normal time.

So then the morning came, and Jack was very excited indeed. He immediately began his day not preparing the pie, but doing his morning chores. His chores today took him exactly two hours. It wasn't quite the average time it took him to do it all, but today he had a stop watch today. He then began the preparations for the pie, including the time to prepare it, it took 29 minutes and 50 seconds today.

He wanted to make sure that he didn't have to wait at all today, so much sure to walk at just a pace that would take him 31 minutes and 10 seconds to arrive at Elli's place.

Elli was just getting ready to start her work there, and was a bit surprised to see Jack.

"Jack, hello! You're early today."

Elli saw that he was holding something, she wondering what it could be this time.

And so, Jack put the freshly baked piece of pie on her desk.

Elli was bewildered, she just looked at it, and then looked at Jack.

"..What is this?"

"A birthday present."

Elli was stunned. Simply stunned. She took a closer look, and then saw that it wasn't just any pie! It was STRAWBERRY pie! And it looked delicious!

Though she couldn't help but ponder, how could Jack have known her birthday? But then she came to the conclusion that he must be interacting with the other townspeople! Realizing this is the only plausible conclusion, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Jack thank you so much! This looks delicious, really thank you!! I seriously did not expect anyone to give me a birthday present today except for my family, this was truly generous of you!"

Jack had received a reply of extreme happiness, he couldn't help but grin, an expression he's yet to make. But still, without making eye contact, he handed her a disposable fork.

Elli took it, and quickly took a bite.

"Mmmmm…so delicious! Where did you buy this?"

"I…I made it.."

"You MADE this? This is really delicious! You'll have to show me how sometime!"

"..sure."

And with that, the conversation had run out of words, as it turned to Jack simply watching Elli happily eat the pie.

And so, Jack left putting his arm up once as to indicate he was saying 'bye'

It seemed that his mission was a success, though he then thought how sad it was that he could only see her so happy on a birthday. If only birthdays could come more often, this plan of his would go a lot smoother and faster.


	9. Strawberry 9

Jack was leaving the doctor's office and on his way home. He starting thinking. Thinking a lot. How would he match up to giving her a strawberry pie of all things? And in addition a birthday present? Wouldn't anything he give to her now just seem like giving her a light bulb as opposed to the sun? Maybe giving her that pie was a bad idea after all...though he could always make more pies, but that would surely not last long seeing as his supply of strawberries was very vital. How would he manage to give her that everyday? As he thought and thought as he walked he walked past the supermarket. He just looked in the window real quick and saw a product in there he had not seen previously. A couple of people were talking about it.

"Oh...you got a blue feather in?"

"Yessir!"

"Man...if only I had a girl I fancied, then I'd definitely give her this if only to see the smile on her face."

"Aha, sir it sounds like you indeed have someone you like!"

"Nah, this is just an old man reminiscing, I'm sure one of the younger folks in your town would be much more happier buying this."

A blue feather? It would make a girl happy?

Jack immediately dashed inside and interrogated the man.

"Is this feather the embodiment of happiness?"

"Er...I suppose you could put it that wa-what?"

The store clerk was handed 2000 gold and he ran off with it.

According to the clerk, this was just what he needed! Though looking over this again, after giving her this, wouldn't it just be delaying the inevitable of never again being able to give her a better present? What a predicament this was....if only he had some other present he knew she would like. Perhaps another reconnaissance mission was required? It would appear so...

Instead of waiting for her to return home, he decided to just peek inside her window to look for evidence.  
Scanning...scanning....  
He saw two things, an old lady and a little boy playing. Irrelevant.  
Scanning...scanning...  
The counter had a bunch of pieces of bread left out.  
Scanning...scanning...  
A flower pot on a shelf with flowers inside  
Ding ding ding.

Flowers. She liked flowers. What was it that she must have liked about the flowers? The color? The smell? A possible unknown third trait? He couldn't say...

He was unable to tell what sort of flower it was, he had to take a closer look and...

"Hey grandma what's that?"

OH. Spotted once again. Bad bad. He had to move. And moving he did. Zoooooom back home.


	10. Strawberry 10

So Jack needed flowers or something? Where to get flowers and what kind? This was a troubling thing indeed. Did they just sell bouquets of flowers here?...No...They did not sell vegetables for reasons unknown, just the seeds, which was very strange in itself but if they were to just sell seeds, then surely they would not discriminate against this absurd line of thinking and go out of their way to sell flowers. They probably have flower SEEDS or something? But why would he have to go through the trouble of growing flowers himself? You can not eat a flower, you can not really sell a flower. If he didn't need them for the ultimate happiness of having a girl with him, these flower things would be useless. Absolutely useless. But perhaps he was missing something in his line of thinking? Regardless, growing the flowers seemed stupid and a waste of time, so he decided to go to the mountain area to see if he could find any.

He walked around the mountain looking only at the ground. He sometimes ran into a tree or two, but he suffered no pain, as his attention span was working 100% towards finding these weed-like-objects called flowers. He saw a stump, he saw a few animals...he saw some stones...but no flowers-hey wait.

There was something yellow in the corner of his eye, it wasn't cheese, it wasn't the sun, it was a flower! He picked it, once again questioning why Elli would like such a thing as this, but she did have a flower vase in her house, though once again he annoyingly considered the possibilities. It could've been the grandma's flower pot, it could've been the small boys? It was hard to say.

But regardless, he should have another flower just in case. Searching and searching he went.

He decided that walking around the lower part wasn't working, so he went up the path.

He saw many animals up the mountain path towards the top. Snakes, rabbits, foxes, but he didn't stop to look at them or be weary of them for even an instant. He was just searching for the flowers.

And then, what was this? A giant field of flowers? Why, if they are this plentiful perhaps saying that they are similar to weeds wouldn't be an exaggeration. Regardless, he found a different flower amongst the field, he picked two of them, and an extra ugly yellow one just in case. The white one he had found didn't even look much like a flower, though it appeared to look nicer then the yellow one. And the yellow one looked much more like a flower, yet appeared to be nothing special.

Would things from the wild dirt such as these suffice to satisfy the desires of the lovely nurse Elli? He couldn't say. Not everyone had the same desires, yet everyone starts off from the same path so the desires of one another could probably not differ too much, such as liking when someone sets your house on fire. Nobody desires that. The same could be applied to these flowers perhaps? He did not know.

For the time being, he went home with these and finished his chores and went straight to bed.


	11. Strawberry 11

Jack woke up with immediate haste. He had some decisions to make.

He had placed three different objects on the table. Strawberries, the flowers, and the blue feather he bought. Which one would he be giving her today?

Logically speaking, it would be the smartest and less dangerous to give her the strawberries, after all, even though she was given the sun, another light bulb would still be an addition, and not a subtraction. But still...variety is a good thing, yes? Though the flowers he picked he couldn't think of ways they would be appealing. But still, he had evidence implying that she would probably maybe perhaps like these flowers. And lastly...there was the blue feather. He overheard the two men saying that this was a source of happiness you give to girls, but this is something he not only didn't hear from Elli, this was a gift of complete mysteries all together that he didn't really understand. But still, the blue feather was pretty, prettier then the flowers anyhow.

They say that you gotta take a few risks in life if you wanna move forward, he wasn't quite sure where he heard that but he does have a TV so he might've heard it when flipping or something, even though he usually just uses it for the weather.

The blue feather was indeed...the riskiest move to make...but it seemed to be the best option, surely it would not have an overall negative effect? That would be just silly.

Although he thought this, he still had a cloud of doubt so he performed his chores slower then usual this fine morning.

And then he took his usual walk to his destination.

Elli was once again in front of the usual desk. She looked a little pleased to see Jack? He didn't think the plans would be going this smoothly.

"Jack! Hello! Thanks again for the pie yesterday, you're the best!"

Jack found these words kinda embarrassing, so he didn't really respond except look down kinda. He was clenching the blue feather in his hand not sure if he really should do it or not. However, not according to plan, it would seem that Elli had noticed the feather.

"...Oh my, is that a blue feather!? Are you thinking of giving it to a girl you like? That's great Jack! I always thought you seemed kinda like someone who didn't really talk to many people, but seeing that you're going to do something like that makes me so relieved!"  
Jack suddenly shook his head.

"Oh..theres not a girl you like or anything? So why do you have that?"

Jack..very slowly, tried to hand it to Elli.

Elli had no words, she just looked at it...and kinda let out a sigh.

"Jack...do you know what this is?"

"?"

"Jack, this is something you give to a girl whom you want to marry ."

Jack was in shock, he didn't know he just did something so stupid.  
He suddenly panicked a lot waving his arms back and forth and shaking his head very fast.

Elli didn't seem angry however, instead she just giggled.

"Its fine Jack, you didn't know right? You must've just thought this feather was pretty and wanted to show me it right?"  
Jack nodded his head MANY times.  
"Thats really kind of you Jack...this flower really is beautiful, though what it symbolizes is even more beautiful..."  
Jack was still holding his head kinda low, he was really really embarrassed...  
"Jack. I'm not mad or anything okay? I'm sure you'll be able to use that feather for real sometime, you're a good guy. Just its not something you give someone as a present unless you really really want to. Got it?"  
Jack nodded.  
"Next time you wanna show me something pretty, how about flowers next time?..Just kidding." Elli gave him a big smile  
By that comment, Jack knew just what to do. He knew it would be a smart idea to bring all three gifts just in case, he picked one at random, the white one.  
Elli had look of surprise on her face seeing this, but it no less made her very delighted.  
"Oh Jack...you're growing flowers now? This is beautiful...thank you so much."  
Jack gave off a tiny nod and suddenly left.


	12. Strawberry 12

As Jack merrily and embarrassedly went home, there was some events in the doctor's office for once, lets take a peek shall we?

Elli was sniffing the flower she received. It was a very thoughtful present, she only wished she had somewhere to place it.

Just as she was doing this, the doctor came over to see her.

"Uh...Elli did I hear something over here?"

"Oh Doctor, no its nothing, Jack just came over."

"Jack...?"

"Yes, he's been coming here for days now, did you not know?"

"I don't know anyone by that name..."

"He's the man that runs the farm! Didn't you know that?"

"What?! THAT MAN!?"

"Yes, he came over to give me flowers, and even came to give me a birthday present yesterday, it was very thoughtful."

"Elli, ELLI! You gotta stay away from that man!"

"Why doctor?"

"Haven't you heard the rumors about him? Talking to people like that is just ASKING for trouble."

"Those rumors about him are completely baseless, he's a kind man. Just has difficulty speaking to others."

"Elli...Elli...how often has he been coming here?"

"For a couple weeks now, its been the highlight of my day for quite some time."

The doctor started rubbing his face in frustration, he really had to do something about this man. Elli could've been in trouble otherwise!

"ELLI! Listen, talking to people like that is dangerous, he could be after you."

"I don't think that's the case at all, he just wants to share his crops since he seems to have an abundance of strawberries."

"He's been giving you presents?!"

"Doctor. I don't want to hear the complaints of someone who only now realized that Jack has been coming to the doctor's office everyday, I appreciate your concern, but Jack is a harmless young man."

The Doctor had to do something, but he couldn't do it right now. He came up with a plan and quietly went into action...

The next day.

Jack had woken up. He had no plan of action for today, but still being slightly embarrassed he had decided he would just think of it as he did his daily work.

Watering the strawberries as usual he wondered if he should just maybe skip coming to it today.

And just as he thought that, he saw someone coming to his farm. Who could it be?

He didn't want to believe it, but...

It was Elli! She was carrying something, a sandwich of some sort? He immediately walked over to her with a question mark on his face.

"Jack! Hello! I know its a bit rude of me to show up like this, but I realized that you must work hard everyday so I brought you a sandwich."  
Jack was overjoyed to see this! He took the sandwich and gobbled it down in one bite. He very briefly made a sour expression, but kept his usual face after it, however it would appear that Elli noticed this.

"Yeah...I'm sorry, I know it was no good. You see I'm trying to make sandwiches for Stu lately but whenever he sees me trying to make them he just runs away and hides...silly right? It was kind of you to eat it as if it was delicious though."

Jack was wordless as usual.

"Oh...hey. How about I make another one tomorrow? I figure if I keep practicing it'll eventually be good right? How about it?"

"Yes."

"GREAT! Thanks so much Jack, I could only ask you this."

And so she left...

He had forgotten to give her a present today..instead Elli had given HIM a present. Were the roles switched? Was Elli now the desperate one trying to get Jack's attention? He had no answers. But at the very least it looked like he wouldn't have to walk into town tomorrow or today.

Lets fast forward to tomorrow.

Elli had once again showed up at his farm as she said she would. What a nice girl.

"Jack hello again!"

Jack immediately took the sandwich and ate it and smiled.

"Oh...wow! Was it really that good?"  
Jack nodded.

"Thanks so much Jack! Though I think I still need to improve, but you saying that really motivates me."  
Before she left though, she seemed to say something else.  
"Hey Jack..there seems to be something going on at the square, you think we should check it out?"


	13. Strawberry 13

Jack had been invited to walk with Elli somewhere, of course he accepted.

Jack and Elli were walking to the square, since Jack didn't have much to say Elli didn't as well. It was just a nice quiet walk.

However, when they got to the square, the word 'nice' was completely destroyed.

Everyone in town was at the square, but it wasn't remotely close being a festival.

The mayor was in front of everyone and trying to calm everyone down.

"Please everyone, get a hold of yourselves! I want to get rid of this ghost problem as much as the rest of you."

Ghost problem? What was going on?

"The ghost stole my products! I know I'm not the most splendid guy, but theft is theft!" Won was just plain frightened.

"I don't know what happens, but everyday when I go to the guy's farm the box is full of stuff but yet I've never seen the guy, awfully strange if you ask me..."

"Even if he's providing us with vegetables, a ghost is still a ghost! He's not a part of our village."

Elli was just plain baffled...everyone thought Jack was a ghost? Ridiculous.

"Jack, you stay here."

Jack was confused so he just listened.

"What the heck is wrong with all you people?"  
"Elli! THANK GOODNESS YOU'RE SAFE."  
"Doctor, what is the meaning of this?"

"Well its just...I've heard you talking everyday to someone, but yet I've never seen this before or heard this before, so I figured it must've been something like this!"

"A ghost. You think I've been talking to a ghost?"

"Well what else would it be?!"

"EXCUSE ME, BUT HE IS RIGHT OVER THERE."

Elli pointed to Jack.

Then a few people recognized him.

"Oh...ew that guy. "  
"He gives me the creeps."  
"He's bought things from my store but...I dunno something doesn't sit right with him."

What the hell was this? If he wasn't a ghost he was a creeper? The people in this town have never been so stupid before so why now? Then suddenly the mayor spoke.

"Even if this farmer is not a ghost, we've been having lots of complaints lately about a certain farmer peeping in on people regularly...I didn't connect the two cause I had no idea who this ghost could be, but now...."

"Elli, please listen to the mayor. This Jack person isn't right, and we're going to be taking him away, please Elli do it for me."

"Why on earth should I?"

"...BECAUSE....BECAUSE I LOVE YOU DANG IT!"

"...what?"

"I LIKE YOU OKAY, NOW PLEASE STOP TALKING TO THIS CREEPY FARMER."

"...what is this?"

Elli was getting more and more irritated when finally.

"You just think you can say something like that the second you see me talking with someone else? You think that suddenly if you reveal that you have feelings for me that I'll suddenly go oh okay I guess I do too? Think again buster, this 'creeper' farmer has done nothing but show me kindness, giving me my favorite food, giving me a birthday present, heck he even told me my sandwiches are delicious. I don't want an emotionless doctor like you who doesn't even notice these things about me, even Jack shows more emotion then you."

The doctor was...hurt. Very hurt. He just fell to the ground right there.

Elli immediately walked over to Jack.

"Hey Jack, still got that blue feather?"

Jack got it out when she asked him too.

"Do you still want to give me it?"

Jack realized the change in situation, he told her previously that he did not wish to marry her, but of course that was a small lie he made. He wanted to marry her from the start and wished to take the proper actions, the fact that she was asking him this now just made things faster.

He gave her the feather.

And there you have it.

Though it was out of spite, Elli had decided to marry Jack. Elli may have regretted this the next day, or she may have found out that this was the best decision a girl like her could've ever made. But at the time, more was going through her mind then just spite. The way everyone got together just to curse a single man was far worse then this man's choice of actions. She didn't care that she hadn't had much time to fall in love with him, she had just decided that this man needed her, and at the same time she needed him. They could get that falling in love business done with later. This was more important.

End.

[Yay, thank you all for reading it completely :D since this is my first completed fanfic, I'd appreciate reviews! Thanks again :) ]


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